


The Authentic Life Chapter 5

by ssa_archivist



Category: Smallville
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-10-13
Updated: 2006-10-13
Packaged: 2017-11-01 07:31:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/353787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssa_archivist/pseuds/ssa_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jonathan and Martha are shocked to discover that Clark and Lex are more than just legendary friends, and Clark's summer in Metropolis is far from gone and forgotten.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	The Authentic Life Chapter 5

## The Authentic Life Chapter 5

by Coren Lee

[]()

* * *

The Authentic Life  
By Coren Lee 

Chapter 5 

Martha stared at the ceiling of their room. Sleep had eluded her for most of the night, and now that it was getting light outside she didn't even bother trying anymore. 

"How are you feeling sweetheart?" 

She hadn't realized Jonathan was awake, but she supposed his night hadn't been much more restful than her own. 

"I honestly don't know Jon, it's all too much to take in, I don't know how I feel." 

"Look, whatever happens today, he's still our son and we still love him, right? We can deal with it." 

"You're a good man," she said, smiling at him, "and yes, I hope he's still our son, but honestly Jonathan, that man we saw last night? He was a stranger to me. I always thought that Clark did things during the summer that he was ashamed or scared to tell us about, but seeing him last night... I don't know. For the first time in my life he actually felt completely alien to me. Even with all his powers I never felt so excluded from his life before. I have to wonder if he said nothing about what he did in the summer because he doesn't consider us important anymore. Maybe he's moved on, and we're just not a part of his life now." 

"Oh honey, I don't think so. I don't think Clark would ever consider you to be unimportant." 

Martha wanted to believe him, she wanted to believe in her son, but there were too many unexplained facts. A club called Planet Krypton? Owned by Clark? A personalised licence plate on a car that was probably worth as much as the farm? His obvious relationship with Lex Luthor, and, oh yeah, Lex dressed as a woman. Her head hurt just thinking about it all. 

"Come on sweetheart, let's get dressed and have some breakfast." Jonathan gave her a hug, and then headed off to the bathroom. "We can pack and load the truck before that driver comes to collect us," he called out over his shoulder. "That will give us something to do so we don't go entirely crazy while we wait for him to get here." 

Even so, the morning dragged, each minute seeming as long as an hour. They had to vacate their room by 10 a.m., and were packed and loaded by ten past. They went for a walk, and when they tired of walking, they settled into the hotel coffee shop. They talked of mundane things, farm things, Smallville things... anything as long as it wasn't about Clark or Lex Luthor. By 12 noon they were in the lobby, and when the sleek black Mercedes pulled into the forecourt at 12:20 p.m., they were waiting outside. 

The hotel concierge opened the back passenger door for them, and as soon as they were seated, the car purred swiftly away. 

"Good afternoon," said Bernard, "I hope you slept well?" 

Martha gave him a sharp look, but she realized he was just being the polite employee. It was small talk, nothing more. 

"Thanks, yes," she said, rolling her eyes at Jonathan so he could see she was amused at the pretense. 

"Are you on duty all the time?" asked Jonathan. "I mean last night you dropped us off pretty late, and here you are again Sunday lunchtime." 

"Not all the time. I have regular hours except when Mr Alexander is in Metropolis, and then it's 24/7." 

"That seems pretty harsh," said Martha. 

"Not at all," Bernard shook his head. "I get paid above average for standard hours, and Mr Alexander doesn't make a lot of demands on my time. It's a sweet deal, I'm very happy with it. The job I had before, the guy was an absolute bast-- er, excuse me, he was not a nice guy at all, and when this job came up I was really lucky to get it." 

Martha mulled over that information as they turned into the lane that led to the parking garage. As soon as they were parked Bernard jumped out to open the door for them, and then led them to an elevator. 

"Please wait here, I need to get security to operate the elevator," he said, and walked over towards an office on the other side of the parking garage. 

Martha was getting nervous again now that they were almost there. She heard footsteps, and saw a uniformed security officer heading their way. He looked ex-military, and she felt distinctly uncomfortable at the sweeping glance he gave her and Jonathan. 

Everything had obviously been arranged as he swiped a card to open the elevator doors, and then swiped it again inside to reveal a key panel. He tapped out a code, and then stepped back as the doors whooshed shut. 

The elevator rose silently, and much sooner than she had expected came to a halt. The doors slid open, and they stepped out into a plush carpeted hallway. She gripped Jonathan's hand, nerves coming back in full force, and wondered what they should do now. As if the thought summoned him, Clark stepped out of a room a little way down the hall. He didn't say anything, but then what was there to say? Martha took a deep breath, and stepped forward to meet her son. Thankfully he was wearing jeans and a shirt, nothing like the exotic outfit he had on last night. He waited until they reached him, and then he stepped back to usher them into the room. It was a huge room, furnished with soft leather sofas and chairs and some beautiful artwork, but strangely, no windows. There was a lot of ambient lighting, but none of it was natural. 

As she looked around, Lex came into the room from another doorway, also dressed in his usual casual wear of silk shirt and lightweight slacks, thank God. 

"Mr and Mrs Kent, good to see you again," he said. Trust Lex always to make the correct social greeting, she thought to herself. And then they were all standing around like actors in a play, looking at each other waiting for whoever had forgotten his lines to speak up. 

Martha took a deep breath. OK, she could do this. "You promised us explanations Clark. I think we've been very patient in doing this your way, but it's time to talk to us. What. The. Hell. Is. Going. On?" Her voice quavered only slightly, but she bit off every word. Damn Clark, he was not going to get away with treating them like this and just pretend that nothing was the matter! 

"You're right," he agreed, "you do deserve explanations. Please, sit down. Can I get you anything to drink?" 

"Clark, we have probably drunk the coffee shop at the hotel dry this morning. Trust me, we do not need anything else to drink right now." 

She saw Lex give one of his characteristic smirks, and then walk over to a bar area where he got two bottles of water from the fridge. Sauntering over to Clark he handed one over, and then they both sat on one of the long couches. 

Martha tugged Jonathan over to the opposite couch. "Explanations Clark?" she said, as they sat down. 

"Right. Explanations." Clark took a swig of water, and seemed to be conducting an internal debate if the expressions on his face were anything to go by. 

Martha's patience was almost at snapping point, and she had no idea how Jonathan was managing to restrain himself. "Clark! This is ridiculous! Talk to us!" 

"I will! I'm just trying to work out the best way to tell you, where to start!" 

Lex reached over and took Clark's hand. "How about we start with our relationship? That's what it all comes back to after all," he suggested. 

Martha definitely thought that starting with their relationship was a good idea, though she also hoped they would get to Planet Krypton and Clark's Lamborghini in due course. 

"Yeah, you're right... as usual." Clark grinned at Lex, and it was as though a weight was lifted off his shoulders. Martha hadn't realized how tense Clark was until she saw him relax. 

"Well, I guess you know that Lex and I are in a relationship. Last night couldn't have left you in any doubt about that." Clark paused, but Martha just nodded at him to continue. 

"OK, well, what probably will surprise you is that we've been together for two years." 

**"WHAT?!"**

Jonathan dropped Martha's hand and surged to his feet. She grabbed him and pulled him back down again before he had time to move. 

The silence in the room was deafening. Martha kept a firm hold on Jonathan, but truthfully she was just as shocked and upset as he seemed to be. She just hadn't worked out what she wanted to say yet. Jonathan's 'what?!' covered it all at this point. 

Jonathan found his voice first. 

"I knew it! I knew there was something odd happening between you two! All those times I told you about the rumours that there was something going on between you and Luthor, and you just shrugged and told me to ignore it! All that time, you flat out lied to me and your mother!" 

"Yeah." 

"Yeah? Yeah?! Is that all you have to say?" Jonathan was going an ugly shade of red, and Martha squeezed his hand to give him a subtle hint to calm down. 

"Well, if you prefer I could ask why you're so surprised that I lied to you." 

Martha stared at her son. 

"Come on Mom, don't look like that. From the day you found me in the cornfield you taught me to lie about _everything_ that's important. I had to lie to my friends, to the rest of the family, to my teachers... hell, at times I wondered if I would recognise the truth if it bit me on the ass." 

Martha couldn't stop herself glancing over to Lex, to see how he was taking all this. His face gave nothing away, but then it never did. 

"I knew you wouldn't like it that Lex and I were together, and I wasn't prepared to risk him being called a pedophile, or charged with statutory rape or contributing to the delinquency of a minor, or any other nasty little blue law sitting on the Kansas statute books. And that was assuming Dad didn't just grab the shotgun and shoot him in a fit of temper." 

The deafening silence returned. 

"So you both just lied to us?" Martha couldn't keep the hurt out of her voice. 

"It's not so surprising, Mrs Kent. You and Mr Kent trained Clark to lie convincingly about almost everything in his life, and my father trained me not only to lie convincingly, but also how to manipulate people to make sure that I achieve my goals. If you think about it, there aren't two people on this planet more skilled at creating and maintaining a deception than Clark and I. Individually we are impressive, but together we make an incredibly formidable team." 

"But how did this whole relationship thing happen? I thought you were just friends. Close friends, but nothing more, and definitely not gay." There, she had said it. The word was out in the open. 

Clark shook his head. "I don't think I am gay," he said. "I'm not attracted to men as such, I'm in love with Lex, I just don't care what gender he is. And as I found out this summer, I'm a complete fucking mess without him." 

Martha winced at the f-word, but Clark didn't even seem to notice. 

"There was something between us from the moment I pulled Lex from the river and gave him the kiss of life, but the night after Earl's Level Three drama, I suddenly had a panic attack at how close I'd come to losing him. I was out in the barn, and it hit me so hard that I collapsed. I ran over to the Manor..." 

Martha couldn't stop a sharp intake of breath in surprise. 

"I never told you; I just had to make sure Lex was OK. Nothing happened between us - or at least, nothing sexual. I think it was pretty obvious that my feelings were stronger than they would be if he was just a friend, but I never said anything and neither did Lex." 

"I was surprised to see him, but I couldn't hide how relieved I was that he had come. So yeah, neither of us said anything but we both sensed a subtle shift in our relationship." 

Martha saw a beautiful smile spread across her son's face, he was obviously re-living some fond memories. 

"We kind of danced around each other after that; we'd always flirted with each other, but now it was closer and more exclusive than we had been before Level Three." 

Martha remembered that period well. Clark seemed to withdraw from all of them, but especially from his friends at school. Chloe and Pete both approached her and asked if she knew what was up with Clark, both saying versions of the same thing: that he was still talking to them, but he didn't seem to be there most of the time and had shut them out as effectively as if he had stepped behind a glass wall. She had known that he spent time with Lex, but hadn't made the connection between their friendship and Clark's distance from his old friends. Then they had the dreadful experience of Sam Phelan to deal with, and that drove everything else out of her mind. 

"Strangely enough, it was that slimeball Sam Phelan that finally brought us together." 

Martha blinked in surprise. It was almost as if Lex had read her mind. "How did he bring you together?" 

"I knew him from my Metropolis days, and I found out he was interested in Clark. That sure as hell was not going to end well, so I made sure I watched him. When he took Clark to Metropolis to steal Alexander's Breastplate, I followed them. As you know, Clark managed to set him up at the Museum and Phelan was shot when he resisted arrest. I hadn't seen Clark anywhere around, but I had a feeling he was there, so I waited after everyone else had left, and sure enough he came out from where he'd been hiding. We talked, and for the first time we were both completely honest with each other. I told him about my past with Phelan, and he told me that he was an alien." 

"Oh my god Clark!" Martha felt as though her heart leapt to her throat. 

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever..." 

"Dad! Lex has known about me for two years. Sorry, but it's a little late to play the denial card." 

"Are you insane?! How could you have just told him your secrets when you barely knew him?!" 

Martha could completely understand Jonathan's anger. Two years ago Lex Luthor was a newcomer in their lives, and more to the point, someone they most definitely did not want anywhere near their son with his superhuman abilities. 

"Clark didn't have to tell me much, Mr Kent. I'm very observant, and my degree was in biochemistry. I've been researching the chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms since I started college, and my thesis looked at the possibilities beyond carbon- and water-based biochemistry. Obviously all the life forms generally known about are terrestrial, but I couldn't keep seeing the impossible happening in front of my eyes and not question it. Putting two and two together wasn't that hard." 

"And you know what? Lex has kept me safe all this time. Without his skills and his commitment I don't know what would have happened to me." 

"Clark, he paid Hamilton to research the meteor rocks!" 

"I know Dad, and why do you think Lex did that? The more we know about them and how they affect me, the safer I'll be!" 

"Mr Kent, Mrs Kent, you have to understand that the one thing I want above everything else is Clark's safety. You don't have to worry that I am going to do anything to put that at risk." 

Martha realized that Lex was trying to calm things down and ease the tension building between her son and her husband. Despite the circumstances she had to appreciate just what a skilled negotiator he was. She decided it was time to meet him half-way. 

"We accept that Lex," she said, "just give us time to get used to all this. Last night we were congratulating ourselves on getting past the events of the summer, and now suddenly we're trying to make sense of a world turned upside down." 

She watched Clark gently rubbing his thumb along Lex's wrist, and wondered if he was even aware that he was doing it. Seeing them together now she couldn't believe she had been so blind. How could she possibly have missed this level of attachment? She cleared her throat. 

"But what about Victoria? And Desiree? And Helen? How did they fit into the picture Lex?" 

"Victoria was a business relationship Mrs Kent," said Lex. "She wasn't interested in anything more than in trying to manoeuvre me into a position so that she could make a move on my LuthorCorp stock. Victoria and I have known each other for years, we play each other like a game of chess." 

"Just for the record, I hated her." 

Lex chuckled, "Oh yeah. You made that abundantly clear." 

"I kept away from the manor while Victoria was there. Lex needed to let her think she was manipulating him, and the sound of my teeth gnashing every time she touched him was putting him off his game." 

"Desiree was a meteor mutant. I wasn't attracted to her, I was assaulted by a meteor-enhanced chemical that completely overrode my own willpower, and allowed Desiree to force me to do things I would never willingly do." 

Martha saw a quick glance pass between Lex and Jonathan, and wondered what she had missed during that particular episode. 

"Clark saved me. If he hadn't been there, she would not only have succeeded in getting me to sign over all my assets to her, she would have killed me as well. He knew that there was something bad going on, and he made sure that he got to the bottom of it and then just like the hero he is, he saved me." 

"Desiree had no idea that Lex and I were in a relationship, so she didn't realise there was anyone who would see what she was doing to him. Everyone else just saw a beautiful woman getting an amazing husband. She tried to manipulate me, but I was immune to her. That confirmed that she was doing something to force Lex, I just had to make sure I worked it out before she got too far. I was almost too late." 

"The one thing I'm grateful for is that she never wanted me, only my money. It would have killed me to have to confess to Clark that I'd been unfaithful to him." 

Martha stared at him. 

"You look surprised Mrs Kent?" 

"I suppose it never occurred to me that your relationship was so, well..." she stuttered to a halt, not really sure how to say it without sounding insulting. 

Lex gave her one of his cool looks, and she felt her face flush slightly in embarrassment. 

"Right. Well, then there was Helen." Lex paused, and looked at Clark. "We're both still a little wounded from Helen." 

"She played us. She was a bitch, but we were fools to let her play us." Clark sounded angrier than Martha had ever heard him. 

"It was my idea," admitted Lex. "I thought that if I had a trophy wife to trot out to corporate functions and divert attention away from my private life, then Clark and I would be able to relax." 

"Helen knew about us," continued Clark, "she saw us one afternoon when we thought we were alone. It's the only time we slipped up, and man did that come back to bite us." 

"Helen told me she knew about us, but that she understood the pressure of keeping our relationship a secret in a small town in Kansas, and that she wouldn't tell anyone. I was suspicious, but time went by and she seemed to keep her word, so I relaxed my guard. Even started to think that maybe Helen could be useful to us. I thought about offering her money to be my wife in name only - she could undertake whatever research she wanted, I would fund it, and she could live a great life. Clark was a little less enamoured of the idea, but we talked about it and eventually he agreed it would be a way to keep the spotlight off us." 

"Unfortunately, not only was Helen greedy, she was also in partnership with Lionel." Clark looked grim. 

"What do you mean, in partnership with Lionel?" Martha feared she knew where this was headed, but she had to ask. 

"We don't really know the full story ourselves, but we've pieced a lot of it together. We have proof that she and Lionel knew each other, and Lex found out that Lionel paid her some very large sums of money." Clark paused, and then sighed before adding, "you won't like this bit, but we're fairly sure that she sold my blood sample to Lionel." 

"We don't think either she or my Father knows about Clark being an alien..." 

Martha couldn't suppress a shudder when it dawned on her just how close they had come to disaster. They had trusted Helen too, the woman was obviously a master manipulator if should could fool all of them, especially Lex. She didn't want to dwell on that thought for too long, though. 

"You said that you believe Helen sold your blood to Lionel? What makes you think that?" 

Clark sighed, and shook his head slightly, "I think this is one of those things that's going to come under the heading of too much information." 

"No more secrets Clark, please, tell us what you think happened." Martha wasn't happy that she sounded like she was pleading, but she had to know. 

Clark gave her a calculating stare, and then shrugged. It was strange and more than a little disturbing to be on the receiving end of a look like that from her son. She was so used to his pretence of naive innocence that when he let the mask slip it was like getting a slap in the face. It was very unnerving that he could switch it on and off like that, not to mention the fact that he looked decidedly intimidating when the mask was off. 

"Right. Yeah. Well, while I was living in Metropolis I did some work for a guy who wanted me to steal something from Lionel. I didn't know until I broke into the safe that what I was stealing was my blood sample, the one that Helen took that time the spores made me ill." 

"She told me she'd disposed of that!" Jonathan spat out. 

"Well, she did I guess, but she disposed of it to Lionel and got a nice payment in return." 

Martha couldn't tear her eyes away from her son. Suspecting that he had been involved in illegal activities was one thing, but having it confirmed so casually was unbelievable. He didn't even seem to care that he'd done anything wrong! 

"Clark! You broke into Lionel's safe?!" She couldn't help it if she sounded appalled, she _was_ appalled. 

"Why do you think I didn't say anything? I knew what your reaction would be, and I didn't see the point in discussing it. Nothing you say can change what happened, so just let it go." 

She felt Jonathan stiffen, and jumped in before he could say anything. She was hurt by Clark's attitude, but they needed to keep the conversation away from ultimatums and threats, and if Jonathan let rip now she was pretty sure the discussion would be over. 

"Okay, okay, we'll let it go, but please, tell us what happened to your blood sample?" She was almost holding Jonathan down at this point. 

"Simple, after I realized what I had, I switched it with a blood sample I swiped from Metropolis General and gave that to Morgan. He never knew the difference. I kept my blood sample; Lex has it now." 

Martha closed her eyes. It was all too much. "Why didn't you just destroy it?" she said, sure she looked as confused as she felt. 

"I asked Lex to do some research on it, see if he could find out why green Kryptonite affects me so badly." 

Martha could understand the sense in that, but she didn't feel comfortable about it. "And have you discovered anything Lex?" 

"I'm still working on it," he said, "it's not easy trying to find out how one extra-terrestrial substance affects another. If it hadn't been for my research during my thesis I don't know if I would get anywhere at all, but fortunately I'm not starting from point zero." 

Martha nodded and closed her eyes again. It was still too much for her to absorb. 

"Are you sure I can't get you something to drink?" 

Martha opened her eyes to see Lex looking at her with some concern. At least one of them seemed to realize what a shock all this was. 

"We've got some food for lunch too, why don't we take a break?" he added. 

"Thank you Lex, that would be most welcome," she sighed. Whatever else happened in her life, Martha was sure that food and drink would always make things better. 

"We arranged it so that none of the staff would be here, so please excuse us for a moment while we get a few things from the kitchen. Clark? Give me a hand?" 

Martha was sure Lex was more than capable of doing whatever needed to be done, but yet again he demonstrated his exceptional ability to know exactly how to handle an awkward situation. She didn't know if he wanted to talk to Clark or just give her and Jonathan a few moments alone, but she was certain it was one, if not both, of those options. 

(Continues in Chapter 6) 


End file.
